


Bromance

by lesbrarians



Series: Through Thick and Thin [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crack, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27820831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbrarians/pseuds/lesbrarians
Summary: Modern college AU featuring the frat boy bromance between Dilan and Aeleus.
Relationships: Aeleus/Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts), Luxord/Xaldin (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Through Thick and Thin [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035852
Kudos: 1





	Bromance

**Author's Note:**

> Old fic circa 2010, uploaded by request! Set in my "Through Thick and Thin" universe.

From the very first moment that he laid eyes on him, Dilan immediately knew that he would _not_ like Ienzo. Little did he know that on that fateful day, when he and Aeleus were lifting weights in the gym and complaining loudly that the dumbbells weren't heavy enough, he would be doomed to spend far more time with the pipsqueak than was deemed socially acceptable. Aeleus just _had_ to go talk to the nerdy kid who was sitting on a bench and reading instead of bench pressing despite Dilan's best attempts to dissuade him: "Bro, no. You just don't go and _do_ that. I mean, look at him! You aren't allowed to contact him, unless it's to go shove him in the pool." And now, four months after Aeleus started dating Ienzo, Dilan still felt the same way.  
  
"Oh, get a room," he griped. Public displays of affection – unless they involved him, because he was that hypocritical – were _not_ his thing. Especially not when they included his roommate and his neurotic, obsessive-compulsive boyfriend shoving their tongues down each other's throats.  
  
Ienzo broke away, laying his head on Aeleus's shoulder so that he could address Dilan. "Oh, do be quiet," he said snippily. Truth be told, he also wasn't a fan of PDA, but he did rather enjoy making annoying, obnoxious frat boys like Dilan uncomfortable. Aeleus was an exception. "But I suppose now is as good a time as any," he continued. "Aeleus, if you'd kindly remove your hands from my derrière, I'd like to ask you something."  
  
Aeleus complied and settled his hands on Ienzo's waist instead, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his skinny jeans.  
  
"Thank you. Now, did you know that Flaming Oceans is coming to campus? Well, I had the good fortune to get premium tickets to the concert!"  
  
Dilan snorted derisively. Ienzo shot him a look and said icily, "That had better not be an insult you are implying. Flaming Oceans is one of, if not _the_ , best bands of all time—"  
  
"When is it?" Aeleus interrupted, hoping to stave off the inevitable argument before it occurred.  
  
"Friday night at 8:00. Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee at Shakespeare's Café and then attend the concert?"  
  
"No can do," Dilan interrupted before Aeleus could answer, cutting in next to the lovebirds and slinging an arm around his roommate's neck. "He already has plans."  
  
"Well, I don't care what you and your microphallus think," Ienzo snidely replied. "He's coming with me. Besides, a night of… _fun_ with me is far more enjoyable than whatever Neanderthal activity you have planned." If it was possible to look down your nose at someone a foot taller than you, Ienzo would have just achieved that very thing.  
  
Dilan simply laughed at him before answering in a mocking voice, "Sorry, I don't speak smartass."  
  
"Oh, _my bad_ ," Ienzo drawled. "That's right, dumbass is your native language, is it not? Now, Aeleus, would you like to join me or not?" He turned back to his boyfriend, giving him a look that clearly said that if he refused to go, he wouldn't be getting laid for at least a month.  
  
"Sure, sounds fun," Aeleus answered, ignoring Dilan's outraged "what the fuck?"  
  
"Wonderful," Ienzo said with a satisfied smirk aimed at Dilan. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I must leave you now to go study for my cognitive psychology exam, but I shall see you tomorrow." He leaned up to kiss Aeleus goodbye and waggled his fingers at Dilan in farewell before flouncing out the door.  
  
"Dude!" Dilan exploded the second the door closed behind Ienzo. "We had plans for Friday night! Tailgate? Football game? Kegger? Whatever happened to bros before hoes?"  
  
"Come on, man, there'll be other games. There's only one Flaming Oceans concert, and Ienzo really wanted to go."  
  
"You're only doing it to get in his pants," Dilan accused, knowing that he was correct in his assumption. "And it doesn't change the fact that you just dumped your best buddy for that skank—"  
  
"Ienzo is not a skank," Aeleus countered automatically, a knee-jerk reaction to Dilan's usual insults.  
  
Dilan opened his mouth.  
  
"Or a ho."  
  
He shut it. Well. Aeleus was one step ahead of him, as always. He decided to change tactics. "You know what you are?" he continued badgering. "You're the homosexual male equivalent of pussywhipped. You're _dickwhipped._ "  
  
Aeleus snorted, flopping down on the couch. "I am _not_ dickwhipped."  
  
"Uh, yeah, you really are. You do anything Ienzo says." He raised his voice an octave in a ridiculous imitation of Ienzo's voice. "Aeleus, go study for your exam because that's obviously more important than partying! Aeleus, make me dinner since I'm too tired to do it after being an obnoxious ass all day! Aeleus, come to the concert with me even though you already have other plans!"  
  
"Okay, okay, here's one for you," Aeleus said, sick of Dilan's relentless heckling. "What's the difference between Dilan and a brick?"  
  
"Oh, spare me," Dilan griped, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Bricks can get laid."  
  
"Wow. Wow, that's... really mature, my friend."  
  
"Dude, it's true. You're just pissed off because Rudol dumped you and now you have nothing — no, scratch that, no _one_ to do on the weekends."  
  
"Well, at least I didn't ditch you for him if I already had plans with you," Dilan said defensively. "Especially not for something as lame as going to a concert with the geek-freak."  
  
"Yeah, you did. You chose strip poker over bar hopping. _Twice._ "  
  
"…Shut up." (Because he had no better comeback.) "Strip poker means getting naked, and getting naked means sex. That is a totally different situation."  
  
"And taking Ienzo to the Flaming Oceans concert means making him happy, and making a fanboy happy means getting into his pants later. _Which means sex._ "  
  
"Shut up," Dilan said again. "You still owe me a beer for this."  
  
\------------------------  
  
Ten minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the cramped kitchen table, each downing a beer from the case that Aeleus had picked up from Campus Convenience.  
  
One beer.  
  
"What do you even see in him anyway?" Dilan asked, tossing an unopened bottle of beer from hand to hand.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The brat."  
  
"He has a name, you know."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Aeleus popped the cap off of a new bottle. "Dunno. There's just something about him. He's smart, witty, keeps me interested." He took a swig of beer. "Plus, he looks really hot in leather pants," he added as an afterthought.  
  
Dilan groaned. "Yeah, okay, I am _not_ drunk enough for this conversation." He caught the bottle one last time and flipped the lid off of it, downing half of its contents in a single draw.  
  
\------------------------  
  
Five beers.  
  
The alcohol was starting to affect them.  
  
"Whatta 'bout you?" Aeleus asked, stumbling over his words.  
  
"Whatta what?"  
  
"What did you see in Rudol?"  
  
Dilan turned around his backwards Sigma Chi cap and pulled the brim down low over his eyes. "Yeah, I dunno either," he mumbled. "He can be a total asshole, then he looks at you with that fucking smile of his, and you don't even remember why you were mad at him in the first place."  
  
"What a douchebag."  
  
"Yeah. But I kinda miss him. A little at least."  
  
"Okay, now you just sound like a 12-year-old girl."  
  
Dilan flipped him the bird.  
  
"Stop being a pussy and take it like a man," Aeleus recommended, tossing him another beer.  
  
Dilan caught it with one hand. "Good plan."  
  
\------------------------  
  
Eight beers.  
  
"Why, Rudy, why?" Dilan lamented, looking heavenward. "Why did you have to do this to me?"  
  
"Let it all out, bro, let it all out," Aeleus advised, thumping his buddy on the back. Dilan tried to compose himself.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna call him and tell him exactly how I feel." Suddenly, drunk-dialing his ex-boyfriend seemed like an excellent idea to his alcohol-addled, judgment-impaired brain. Dilan groped for his cell phone and dropped it twice before finally getting a good enough grip on it to press speed-dial 5. He was momentarily thankful that he still had his ex-boyfriend/booty call on speed-dial, because he was far too drunk at the time to attempt to dial a full phone number.  
  
Rudol answered on the third ring. "Hullo?"  
  
"Rudyyy," Dilan slurred into the phone's receiver.  
  
There was a rustling noise as the Brit pulled the phone away from his ear and frowned at it before venturing, "Dilan? What on earth—"  
  
"You SUCK!" he blurted out, jabbing a finger in the air violently and unnecessarily.  
  
Rudol didn't seem to know how to react to that piece of information. "Er…" he began, but Dilan plowed on heedlessly.  
  
"Yeah, that's right. You suck, you and your, your dirty, backstabbing, cheating ways." Considering his current state of intoxication, it was a reasonably valid argument. "And I don't care how good you are in bed, 'cause I'm done with you and your motherfucking mind games. Fuck you!" Dilan slammed the phone down on the table before realizing that he hadn't technically hung up and Rudol was still on the line. He spent several fumbling minutes trying to find the "End Call" button before finally succeeding.  
  
"Good one, bro," Aeleus said, bumping fists with Dilan.  
  
"Yeah, I showed him, didn't I?" Dilan replied, looking at the other for affirmation that he did the right thing.  
  
"Yup." Both of them took another swig from their respective beers as the reality of what Dilan just did sunk in.  
  
"Oh god," Dilan said after a moment of silence, a mixture of regret and dread finally washing over his alcohol-dulled senses. "He's gonna hate me now, isn't he? Ae, he's gonna hate me!" He freaked out, grabbing for his phone.  
  
"Dude. No." Aeleus snatched the phone from Dilan and held it above his head, just out of reach. "Bad idea. Friends don't let friends call their exes back."  
  
"Shut the fuck up and gimme my phone," Dilan growled.  
  
"No."  
  
"Sonova bitch." Dilan sucker-punched Aeleus, causing him to grunt in pain, and forcibly wrestled the phone from him.  
  
"Fine, it's your own funeral," Aeleus grumbled, rubbing his side.  
  
Dilan was too busy calling Rudol back to listen. "He's not answering," he hissed, his voice panicked. Aeleus shrugged his shoulders in the universal "hey, don't look at me" gesture and finished off his ninth beer.  
  
"Hey, this is Rudol—"  
  
"Rudy?" Dilan perked up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and straightening up in his chair.  
  
"—I either can't come to the phone right now, or I'm ignoring your call for a reason. Leave a message and I'll ring you later. Or not." There was a resounding beep, and Dilan's face fell comically.  
  
"Take me baaaack," he sobbed to the answering machine, cradling the phone to his ear like a security blanket. He'd hit the "crying drunk" stage, and it was not doing wonders for him.  
  
"Bro. Take a swig and chill," Aeleus advised, shoving another beer into Dilan's hand and opening a new one for himself. Dilan nodded wordlessly and dropped his phone, choosing to drown his sorrows by consuming as much alcohol as humanly possible. One bottle later, he felt ready to talk again.  
  
"See, you're the only one who understands me," he said, words running together indistinctly. "No one… no one else gets me… like that." He slung one arm around Aeleus's neck, pulling him into a one-armed hug. "I love you, man," he confessed drunkenly.  
  
"Love you too, man."  
  
The touching moment was soon interrupted by the sound of the door opening, but neither of the two men felt like moving, preferring to use each other as support in their drunken stupor.  
  
"Aeleus, I think I left my—" Ienzo poked his head through the front door, only to cut himself off and wrinkle his nose in distaste upon seeing Dilan and Aeleus, both of whom were evidently completely hammered. "Oh, it's you again," he said in a voice that clearly implied that he thought that Dilan was a terrible influence on his boyfriend.  
  
"Hey Ie," Aeleus slurred, lifting his beer in greeting.  
  
Ienzo raised a disapproving eyebrow. "Hello Aeleus," he answered, crossing his arms and surveying the kitchen, which was in shambles. Beer bottles littered the table, the notes for the philosophy exam that Aeleus was _supposed_ to be studying for were strewn across the floor, and a chair had been knocked over in the brief scuffle over Dilan's phone. "The testosterone in this room is palpable," Ienzo commented, displeasure radiating from his every pore.  
  
"You wouldn't know," Dilan said. "You and your – your – _girly pants_." He gestured with his bottle wildly, beer sloshing over the rim.  
  
"If you are finished insulting my masculinity as a direct result of your insecurities in your own manliness," Ienzo replied dryly, "then I suppose I shall leave you two to your drunken shenanigans." He snatched the jean jacket that he had left behind off of the counter and headed for the door. "Aeleus, I expect to see you in our philosophy lecture at 8 A.M. sharp, hangover or not." He turned the handle of the door and looked behind him for one last parting jibe. "Oh, and for your information, Dilan," he hissed, "I look a thousand times better in these pants than you do in anything in your sloppy frat-boy wardrobe."  
  
When the door slammed shut behind Ienzo, Dilan immediately broke out into chanting. "CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!" Aeleus followed suit, downing his entire bottle of booze in one go before slamming it down on the table victoriously.  
  
"WOOOOO!" He pumped his fists in the air in triumph.  
  
Sure, they were going to regret drinking so much when the morning arrived and they had to drag themselves to class. And sure, Ienzo would be mad at Aeleus, and Dilan likely blew whatever chances he had to get back together with Rudol. But they were young, the night was theirs to do what they please, and damn straight, they were gonna live it up.


End file.
